There are about 50 guys on NHL playoff teams out of the lineup with injuries right now. But as I mention inmy story today forget about getting any detail on the injuries as coaches are allowed to evade questions with all the creativity and coyness they can muster. Some even seem to be having fun with their non-answers to media questions.

A few players have been a bit more transparent in their explanations as when Canucks player Raffi Torres – lucky number 13 – explained why he missed his first game back after his four-game suspension. He said he had food poisoning. This, after he ate lobster at the Keg. The restaurant chain has a “Crab Celebration” going on now till May 1 and Torres said he wanted to order the crab but his wife’s preferences prevailed and they got lobster instead. Are you even slightly curious about whether he got his meal comped since it made him sick?!

I asked Frank Brown, an NHL head office (New York) vice president, to tell me what the policy is on injury disclosure during the playoffs and this is what he told me:

“When an injury occurs in a Stanley Cup Playoff game, a Club spokesperson must notify the media of the approximate location, nature, and severity of an injury as soon as possible, except to the extent that the Club determines that such disclosure may jeopardize the player’s physical well-being if and when the player returns to play, in which case the Club is entitled to provide a more general overview of the player’s injury status.

The Club must also announce whether the player is expected to return to play in the game in which the injury occurred. At no time should a Club give false or misleading information regarding a player injury to the media.”

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